Chapter 857: Return to Hongyuan City

“Folded spaces are somewhat similar to formations. Once you find the portal, you can easily leave!” Luo Ruoxi said.

“Portal?” Zhang Xuan looked around.

This space was not large, only a few hundred meters in radius. Beyond that, it seemed to be cut off by something, like a spatial barrier; even if one wanted to go there, they couldn't.

“It seems the way out is within this area…”

The spatial barrier certainly couldn't be crossed. If there was a portal, it would be within the vicinity of the thatched hut.

His Eye of Insight flickered as he scanned the area, finding nothing. Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he looked back towards where they had come from, indeed noticing something different.

He took a few steps forward and gently tapped his foot on the ground. A circular platform slowly emerged, identical to the one they had seen upon entering.

“That’s right, this is it. As long as we step on it, we can leave…” Luo Ruoxi smiled, stepped onto it first, and with a slight shimmer, her figure vanished.

“Be careful…”Zhang Xuan was startled, not expecting her to leave directly.

The Conferred Saint Platform had been dismantled, and many master teachers must have gone mad. Going out like this, wasn't it just waiting to be beaten to death?

However, since she had already gone out, he couldn't worry too much and immediately stepped onto the platform himself.

With a flash of light, the scene before him changed. Blue skies, white clouds, and a gentle breeze reappeared, and the girl was standing not far away.

“Hmm?” Zhang Xuan looked around, surprised. “Where is this?”

It was a vast, empty space, clearly different from the Conferred Saint Platform they had just left. They were obviously no longer in the same spot.

“I don’t know either. It’s probably because Master Kong calculated that the appearance of the Conferred Saint Platform would cause a lot of trouble, so he moved the exit location!” Luo Ruoxi said.

“That’s for the best…” Seeing that they were no longer at the Conferred Saint Platform, thus avoiding the fate of being surrounded and attacked, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He now understood that obtaining Master Kong’s approval meant that even damaging the Conferred Saint Platform was not a big deal. The crucial point was that if he told these master teachers that the Conferred Saint Platform contained a folded space with Master Kong’s personal writings, it would certainly cause immediate frenzy.

While many master teachers were open-minded, even more would likely develop other intentions.

He certainly didn’t want to be besieged daily over some broken book.

He scanned the surroundings, confirming that they were a good distance from the Conferred Saint Platform and no other master teachers were pursuing them. Only then did Zhang Xuan relax. He summoned the Violet-Winged Heavenly Roc, and just as he was about to leave, he looked at the stone platform not far away, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

With a flick of his wrist, a beehive the size of a soccer ball appeared in his palm.

“Master!” The Mother of a Thousand Ants rolled onto the ground.

“There’s a folded space here. Can you put it into the beehive?” Zhang Xuan asked.

The Thousand Ant Beehive had a diameter of only two or three meters; even a Violet Sun Beast found it cramped, and he hadn't found a way to expand it. Now, there was such a massive folded space here. Could he find a way to make them compatible?

This one before him was hundreds of meters in diameter. If it truly succeeded, he might actually be able to form a spirit beast army. If anyone dared to disobey, he could release them all at once and have them thoroughly beaten.

The Mother of a Thousand Ants lowered her head, glanced at the stone platform, climbed onto it, and then returned moments later, her eyes gleaming. “Master, I can merge this folded space with the beehive, but… it might take some time!”

“How long approximately?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Anything involving space was certainly complex. The Mother of a Thousand Ants was merely a Spirit Beast of the Unification Realm; even with extraordinary talent, it wouldn't be easy for her to accomplish this.

“I’ll need three days to completely devour it, but to transform it into the beehive will take at least several months…” the Mother of a Thousand Ants replied.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you for three days!” Zhang Xuan smiled.

Three days was nothing.

“Yes!” Hearing her master’s approval, the Mother of a Thousand Ants said no more. Her body flickered, and she burrowed into the stone platform, disappearing from view.

Seeing that he wouldn't even let go of the folded space left by Master Kong, Luo Ruoxi shook her head.

Others would revere anything left by Master Kong as a sacred artifact, not daring to show the slightest disrespect. Yet, this guy… was actually plotting to have the Mother of a Thousand Ants devour it… She really didn’t know what he was thinking.

The two waited on the spot for three days. True to her word, the Mother of a Thousand Ants crawled out, her face pale, her size doubled, and her belly bloated.

He collected her into the beehive, letting her expand the space within on her own. Only then did Zhang Xuan step onto the beast’s back and soar towards the Master Teacher Academy.

One could say he had made a huge profit from this trip to the Conferred Saint Platform.

The character "Teacher" had refined his mind, increasing his Heart of Tribulations scale to 30.1, comparable to a 7-star master teacher. He obtained Master Kong’s personal writings, which, though he didn't know their specific use, must be extremely valuable since countless master teachers would flock to them. Finally, the Mother of a Thousand Ants now had the potential to upgrade her beehive.

Having devoured such an enormous folded space, it was imaginable that the beehive would expand many times over. At that point, the Violet Sun Beast, the Violet-Winged Heavenly Roc, and even his own clone and students could all be accommodated within it, eliminating any worries about having no place to go.

Cultivating was oblivious to time; three days passed in a flash. As they continued their journey, Hongyuan City once again appeared in sight.

After this period, the beehive had expanded to more than ten meters wide, spacious enough for the Violet-Winged Heavenly Roc to enter comfortably.

Zhang Xuan hadn't been idle either. With his increased Heart of Tribulations scale, he understood cultivation techniques more thoroughly, and his cultivation progressed even faster.

For the past few days, he had intended to suppress his cultivation and wait until he found a Heaven's Path cultivation technique before continuing, but to his dismay, he unknowingly broke through to the early stage of the Dimension Sundering Realm upon waking up. This left him depressed for a long time.

He had been determined this time to properly temper his True Qi and undergo some arduous training, but… he wasn't given any chance at all.

Alas, breaking through too easily was also a problem!

Upon reaching the Dimension Sundering Realm, his True Qi power increased significantly once again, from 14 million ding to 17 million ding!

It was no weaker than someone at the mid-stage of the Dimension Sundering Realm.

Adding his soul power of 11 million ding and physical body strength of 8 million ding, he could unleash a total of 36 million ding!

Even a peak Silhouette Severing Realm expert would likely be killed with a single punch.

(A peak Silhouette Severing Realm expert possesses 34 million ding of power)

Soon after entering Hongyuan City, the Master Teacher Academy came into view. Luo Ruoxi’s delicate figure flickered as she bade him farewell and soared into the sky.

Zhang Xuan, meanwhile, controlled the Heavenly Roc and flew towards his residence.

“Dean, Zhang Xuan and Master Luo are back…”

No sooner had the Heavenly Roc entered Hongyuan City than an elder from the Alchemy Academy rushed to Lu Feng’s residence.

“They’re back? Excellent…”

Lu Feng slammed the table and abruptly stood up, his eyes gleaming.

He had thought the fellow would return in a day or two, but they had waited for nearly ten days! It was utterly unforgivable!

“Continue monitoring him. Do not let that fellow escape!”

After giving the instruction, Lu Feng looked to the side. “Dean Chen, Dong Xin, let’s go to the Elder Council Hall!”

“Alright!” Chen Chengxun and Dong Xin breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

To prevent any leaks, they had stayed there for days, not daring to go anywhere. Now that Zhang Xuan was back, it was time for this to end.

Not long after, the three arrived at the tallest and most majestic building in the Master Teacher Academy, entering its most secure room.

The Elder Council Hall!

The place where the ten elders and the dean held their discussions.

This place was rarely opened, but this academic year, barely half a month after its start, it had already been opened twice.

The first time was when the senior Violet Sun Beast went missing. The second time was to expel Zhang Xuan.

They entered the room and activated the formation within. Shortly after, the remaining eight elders filed in.

“Dean Lu, why have you called us so urgently again?” Elder Mi asked, looking over as soon as he entered the room.

“Indeed,” Zhao Bingxu said. “If it’s about the last matter, there’s no need to discuss it. Although most of the students at the Alchemy Academy dropped their courses, I specifically checked, and nearly half of them have made breakthroughs in alchemy… This means that not only is Master Zhang not at fault, but he has actually contributed!”

After that day, many deans also investigated the Alchemy Academy. Indeed, as Lu Feng had said, countless students had dropped courses… However, despite dropping their courses, these students had learned superior knowledge and shown significant progress.

The academy primarily focused on nurturing talent. As long as students could make progress, it was an immense benefit. Reporting this to the Master Teacher Hall would also be without fault.

“Don’t be in a hurry. Let’s discuss this after Master Mu and Hall Master Mo arrive!” Lu Feng waved his hand dismissively and snorted coldly.

Last time, these people had checkmated him, leaving him with no options.

But this time, with concrete evidence, let’s see what they can say!

“Hall Master Mo? Why call him?” Wei Ranxue asked upon hearing his words.

The other elders frowned.

The Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy and the Hongyuan Master Teacher Hall were two separate entities that did not interfere with each other. Why would he call the Hall Master to an academy elders' meeting?

Wasn't he embarrassed enough already?

Did he want the Master Teacher Hall to come and mock them too?

“You’ll know when the time comes!” Lu Feng lifted his head, exuding strong confidence.

Let them defend Zhang Xuan. In a while, when they learned he was a Demonic Tribe member, they would probably be stunned.

Seeing that he said nothing but acted mysteriously, Zhao Bingxu, Dean Mi, and the others exchanged glances, each filled with doubt.

Creak! Creak!

Not long after, Master Mu and Hall Master Mo Gaoyuan entered.

“Master Mu, Hall Master Mo!”Everyone clasped their fists in greeting.

“What is it this time?” Master Mu asked, waving a hand after everyone was seated.

“Master Mu, this matter concerns the senior Violet Sun Beast and the safety of our human race; we cannot be negligent. Before we discuss anything, I hope you can place a restriction on this room to prevent anyone from transmitting messages!” Lu Feng stood up.

“A restriction?” Master Mu frowned.

“Lu Feng, what do you mean? Do you think we would leak information?” Zhao Bingxu’s face darkened.

The other deans also narrowed their eyes, filled with displeasure.

As one of the Ten Great Master Teachers and a highly influential dean of the academy, for him to place a restriction before even stating the matter clearly indicated that he was guarding against them.

Especially the phrase “to prevent anyone from transmitting messages”—what did that mean? Could it be that if the matter concerned the senior Violet Sun Beast and the safety of the human race, they would still leak information?

“I certainly won’t leak information, but some people might. The implications are simply too great, and among us, there are many who could be swayed. Doing this is also a precaution!”

Lu Feng scanned the room, his eyelids slightly lifted.